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US air traffic controllers are increasingly seeking additional employment and calling in sick, as they remain on duty without pay amid the government shutdown, the transport chief has announced.

"These professionals are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

After the government shut down on October 1st, flight controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were told to keep doing their duties without pay.

But a number have been absent, leading terminals to stop or slow their plane traffic, which has added to delays caused by climate and additional factors.

Over three thousand American flights were delayed on the weekend, and Duffy said he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the pressure," Duffy said 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, 'Should I drive Uber, am I able to secure an alternative of income to make ends meet?'" he continued.

The secretary added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airports said travel would be held up due to a shortage of workers - one of the highest after the shutdown began.

The American federal closure entered its 26th day on Sunday, rendering it the second-longest shutdown in the past.

Duffy has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would slow down the number of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

In his interview, he declined to respond straightforwardly when questioned if it was safe to travel by air in the United States, and instead made a personal plea to controllers.

"I require my controllers focused on the airspace, not on the finances at home," the official stated.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at LAX due to employee deficits, leading to disruption at the fifth most active airport in the nation and one of the busiest in the world, as well as additional travel stretching upward to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The FAA alert went out at 08:45 in the morning on the weekend. Many flights were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the authority said DFW, the second-busiest airport in the country, could encounter problems from low staffing later in the day.

The agency advised passengers in the state to consult carriers about revised flight schedules.

The issue comes ahead of Game 3 of the World Series, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and about one month before the Thanksgiving break, among the peak periods to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in 2019. Back then, the halt had reached its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led several air traffic controllers to remain absent on the identical date on January 25, 2019, briefly halting travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the time was in his initial presidency as president, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, bringing an end to the federal closure after thirty-five days.