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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and calling in sick, as they remain on duty without pay amid the federal closure, the transport chief has announced.

"These professionals are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told Fox News on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

After the federal closure on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were told to keep doing their duties uncompensated.

But some have been absent, leading airports to stop or slow their flight operations, which has added to setbacks caused by weather and other issues.

Over 3,000 American flights were delayed on the weekend, and the secretary stated he expects the circumstances to deteriorate further.

"I observe the stress," he remarked in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had spoken to multiple professionals to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to find another source of income to make ends meet?'" he added.

Duffy added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields indicated travel would be held up due to a shortage of employees - among the peak after the closure began.

The American federal closure entered its twenty-sixth day on the weekend, rendering it the second most extended halt in the past.

Duffy has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would reduce the number of aircraft 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 US, and instead made a personal plea to the professionals.

"I need my staff focused on the airspace, not on the finances at their households," Duffy stated.

On Sunday, some planes were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, causing disruption at the fifth most active terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights stretching north to the city of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration notice went out at 08:45 local time on Sunday. Many flights were back on schedule before noon.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were postponed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA said DFW, the second-busiest airfield in the country, could encounter problems from reduced staff later in the day.

The FAA advised passengers in the state to check with carriers about revised departure times.

The situation precedes the third match of the championship, which is due to be played in LA on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks before the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to fly in the US.

Pressure on US air travel helped end a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including aviator instruction.

It prompted a number of flight controllers to remain absent on the same day on 25 January 2019, briefly halting movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his initial presidency as leader, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the government shutdown after thirty-five days.