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

"These professionals are wearing thin," 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, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were told to keep doing their jobs uncompensated.

But a number have been missing, causing terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has exacerbated setbacks caused by climate and additional factors.

More than 3,000 US flights were postponed on Sunday, and the secretary said he expects the situation to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the stress," Duffy remarked in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had met with multiple professionals to hear their worries directly.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I drive Uber, am I able to find another source of income to cover expenses?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated travel would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - among the peak since the shutdown started.

The American federal closure entered its twenty-sixth day on the weekend, making it the second-longest shutdown in the past.

He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the number of planes in the air if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his interview, he declined to respond directly when asked if it was safe to travel by air in the US, and instead made a personal plea to controllers.

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

On that day, certain flights were stopped at LAX due to employee deficits, causing interruption at the fifth most active terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights extending north to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The FAA notice was issued at 8:45 AM in the morning on the weekend. Many flights were back on schedule before noon.

Flights at Newark Airport, though, were delayed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA indicated DFW, the second-busiest airport in the country, could experience difficulties from low staffing in the afternoon.

The FAA advised passengers in the state to consult airlines about updated departure times.

The situation precedes Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in LA on Monday evening, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest periods to fly in the US.

Strain on US air travel helped end a federal closure in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including pilot training.

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 time was in his first term as president, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.