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

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

Following the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were told to continue performing their jobs uncompensated.

But some have been absent, leading airports to stop or slow their flight operations, which has exacerbated delays due to climate and other issues.

More than three thousand US flights were postponed on Sunday, and the secretary stated he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the stress," he said in an discussion 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, 'Can I work for Uber, am I able to secure another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.

Duffy further mentioned that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airfields said travel would be delayed due to a lack of employees - one of the highest after the shutdown began.

The US government shutdown entered its 26th day on the weekend, making it the second most extended shutdown in the past.

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

In his interview, he would not answer straightforwardly 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 concentrating on the airspace, not on the finances at home," Duffy said.

On that day, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, leading to disruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as additional travel extending north to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert was issued at 08:45 in the morning on the weekend. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airport in the US, could experience problems from low staffing later in the day.

The agency warned passengers in the state to check with airlines about updated flight schedules.

The situation precedes Game 3 of the championship, which is due to be played in LA on Monday night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to fly in the US.

Pressure on American aviation contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including aviator instruction.

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

On that date, the former president, who at the period was in his first term as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the government shutdown after thirty-five days.