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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for additional employment and reporting ill, as they remain on duty unpaid during the federal closure, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," the official told a news outlet on Sunday, as some flights were halted on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

Following the government shut down on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were instructed to continue performing their jobs uncompensated.

But a number have been absent, causing airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated setbacks due to weather and additional factors.

More than 3,000 American flights were postponed on the weekend, and the secretary said he expects the circumstances to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the pressure," Duffy said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had spoken to several controllers to hear their concerns firsthand.

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

The secretary added that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airports said travel would be held up due to a shortage of workers - among the peak since the shutdown started.

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

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

In his conversation, he would not answer directly when asked if it was secure to travel by air in the United States, and instead made a direct appeal to controllers.

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

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, leading to disruption at the fifth most active airport in the nation and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as additional travel extending upward to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on the weekend. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were postponed an mean of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the authority indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airport in the US, could encounter problems from low staffing later in the day.

The FAA warned travelers in California to check with airlines about updated flight schedules.

The issue precedes Game 3 of the World Series, which is scheduled in LA on Monday evening, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to fly in the US.

Strain on US air travel contributed to ending a federal closure in 2019. Back then, the halt had entered its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including aviator instruction.

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

On that date, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his initial presidency as leader, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.