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US air traffic controllers are increasingly looking for additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty without pay amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

After the federal closure on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are considered essential workers, were instructed to keep doing their jobs uncompensated.

But a number have been missing, leading terminals to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has added to setbacks due to climate and additional factors.

More than 3,000 US flights were delayed on Sunday, and Duffy said he expects the situation to grow worse.

"I am seeing the stress," he said in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had met with multiple professionals to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I work for Uber, am I able to secure another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he continued.

The secretary further mentioned that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airports said travel would be held up due to a shortage of workers - one of the highest after the shutdown started.

The American federal closure reached its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, rendering it the second-longest shutdown in the past.

Duffy has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of planes in the air if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

In his interview, he declined to respond straightforwardly when questioned if it was safe to fly in the US, and instead issued a personal plea to controllers.

"I need my controllers focused on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at their households," the official said.

On that day, some planes were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, leading to interruption at the fifth most active airport in the country and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights extending north to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert was issued at 8:45 AM local time on the weekend. Many flights were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, though, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the authority indicated DFW, the second most active airfield in the country, could encounter problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The agency warned passengers in California to consult carriers about updated 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 break, among the peak times to travel by air in the US.

Strain on US air travel helped end a federal closure in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and affected airline operations, including aviator instruction.

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

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his first term as president, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.