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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and reporting ill, as they remain on duty unpaid amid the federal closure, the transport chief has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," Sean Duffy informed a news outlet on Sunday, as certain aircraft were grounded on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

Following the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are considered essential workers, were told to keep doing their duties uncompensated.

But a number have been absent, causing airports to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has exacerbated delays due to weather and other issues.

Over 3,000 US flights were postponed on Sunday, and Duffy said he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

"I observe the stress," Duffy said in an discussion on a weekend program, adding that he had spoken to multiple professionals to listen to their worries firsthand.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, can I find an alternative of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.

The secretary added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields said flights would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - one of the highest after the shutdown began.

The American federal closure reached its 26th day on Sunday, making it the second-longest shutdown in history.

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would reduce the quantity of aircraft in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

In his conversation, he declined to respond straightforwardly when questioned if it was secure to travel by air in the United States, and instead made a direct appeal to the professionals.

"I require my staff focused on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at home," Duffy stated.

On that day, certain flights were grounded at LAX due to staffing shortages, causing interruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights stretching north to the city of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration notice went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on Sunday. Numerous trips were operating normally before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were delayed an average of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could experience problems from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The agency advised travelers in California to consult carriers about updated flight schedules.

The issue comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in LA on Monday night, and about one month before the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest periods to travel by air in the US.

Strain on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the halt had reached its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led several air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on January 25, 2019, briefly halting movement at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

On that date, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his initial presidency as president, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the government shutdown after 35 days.