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US air traffic controllers are increasingly seeking second jobs and reporting ill, as they remain on duty without pay during the federal closure, the transportation secretary has stated.

"These professionals are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told a news outlet on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

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

But a number have been absent, leading airports to stop or slow their flight operations, which has exacerbated delays caused by weather and additional factors.

More than 3,000 US flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy stated he anticipates the situation to grow worse.

"I observe the stress," he said in an interview on a weekend program, noting that he had met with several controllers to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, can I secure an alternative 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 shortage of workers - among the peak after the shutdown started.

The US government shutdown entered its twenty-sixth day on the weekend, rendering it the second-longest shutdown in the past.

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would slow down the quantity of planes in the air if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

In his interview, he would not answer directly when questioned if it was secure to fly 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 their households," the official stated.

On Sunday, certain flights were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the nation and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights extending north to the city of Oakland.

The FAA notice went out at 08:45 local time on Sunday. Many flights were back on schedule by midday.

Flights at Newark Airport, however, were delayed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could encounter problems from reduced staff in the afternoon.

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

The issue comes ahead of the third match of the World Series, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the halt had entered its fifth week and affected airline operations, including pilot training.

It led several flight controllers to remain absent on the same day 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 first term as leader, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the federal closure after thirty-five days.