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American flight controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and reporting ill, as they continue to work unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are becoming strained," the official told a news outlet on Sunday, as some flights were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

After the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were instructed to continue performing their duties without pay.

But some have been absent, leading terminals to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has exacerbated setbacks due to weather and additional factors.

More than three thousand US flights were delayed on the weekend, and Duffy stated he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

"I observe the stress," he said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had met with multiple professionals to hear their concerns firsthand.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I work for Uber, can I secure another source of income to cover expenses?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on Saturday 22 alerts at airfields indicated flights would be delayed due to a shortage of workers - one of the highest after the shutdown began.

The American federal closure reached its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, making it the second most extended halt in history.

Duffy has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would reduce the number of planes in the air if there is a deficit of security staff.

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

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

On that day, some planes were grounded at LAX due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the world, as well as additional travel stretching north to the city of Oakland.

The FAA notice was issued at 08:45 in the morning on Sunday. Many flights were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were delayed an mean of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the authority indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could experience problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The agency advised travelers in the state to consult carriers about revised departure times.

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday night, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak periods to travel by air in the US.

Strain on US air travel helped end a government shutdown in 2019. Back then, the halt had reached its fifth week and affected airline operations, including aviator instruction.

It led several flight controllers to remain absent 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 time was in his first term as leader, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after 35 days.