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American flight controllers are increasingly looking for second jobs and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid during the federal closure, the transport chief has stated.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy informed Fox News on the weekend, as certain aircraft were grounded on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

After the government shut down on 1 October, flight controllers, who are considered critical staff, were told to keep doing their duties uncompensated.

But a number have been absent, leading terminals to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays due to weather and additional factors.

Over three thousand American flights were postponed on Sunday, and Duffy said he expects the situation to grow worse.

"I am seeing the stress," he said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had spoken to several controllers to listen to their concerns directly.

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I drive Uber, am I able to secure another source of income to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airports indicated travel would be held up due to a shortage of workers - one of the highest since the closure started.

The US government shutdown reached its 26th day on Sunday, rendering it the second-longest halt in history.

Duffy has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the number of planes in the sky if there is a deficit of security staff.

In his interview, he declined to respond directly when asked if it was safe to travel by air in the United States, and instead issued a direct appeal to the professionals.

"I need my controllers concentrating on the airspace, not on the finances at their households," Duffy said.

On Sunday, certain flights were grounded at LAX due to staffing shortages, causing interruption at the fifth most active airport in the nation and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as other flights stretching north to the metropolis of Oakland.

The FAA notice went out at 08:45 local time on Sunday. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the authority said DFW, the second most active airfield in the US, could encounter difficulties from low staffing later in the day.

The agency warned travelers in California to consult airlines about revised flight schedules.

The issue precedes the third match of the World Series, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday night, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak periods to fly in the US.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the halt had entered its fifth week and affected flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led a number of flight controllers to stay home on the identical date on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, Donald Trump, 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.