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US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking second jobs and reporting ill, as they remain on duty unpaid during the government shutdown, the transport chief has announced.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

Following the federal closure on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were told to keep doing their duties uncompensated.

But a number have been missing, leading terminals to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated setbacks due to climate and additional factors.

Over 3,000 US flights were delayed on Sunday, and Duffy said he anticipates the situation to deteriorate further.

"I observe the stress," Duffy said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had met with multiple professionals to hear their worries directly.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I work for Uber, am I able to secure another source of earnings to cover expenses?'" he added.

Duffy added that on Saturday 22 alerts at airports said flights would be held up due to a shortage of workers - among the peak after the closure began.

The US government shutdown entered its 26th day on Sunday, making it the second most extended halt in history.

Duffy has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

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

"I require my controllers focused on the flight paths, not on the finances at their households," Duffy stated.

On that day, certain flights were stopped at LAX due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth most active terminal in the nation and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights stretching north to the city of Oakland, California.

The FAA alert was issued at 08:45 local time on the weekend. Many flights were operating normally by midday.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second most active airfield in the country, could experience difficulties from low staffing later in the day.

The agency advised passengers in California to consult airlines about updated flight schedules.

The situation precedes the third match of the World Series, which is due to be played in LA on Monday night, and about one month before the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to fly in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and affected flight services, including pilot training.

It led a number of flight controllers to remain absent on the same day on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, the former president, who at the time was in his first term as president, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the government shutdown after thirty-five days.