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US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking additional employment and reporting ill, as they remain on duty unpaid during the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," the official informed Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were halted on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

After the government shut down on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were instructed to continue performing their jobs uncompensated.

But some have been missing, causing airports to stop or slow their plane traffic, which has added to delays due to weather and other issues.

Over 3,000 US flights were delayed on the weekend, and Duffy said he expects the situation to deteriorate further.

"I observe the stress," Duffy said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had spoken to several controllers to listen to their concerns directly.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to find another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields indicated travel would be delayed due to a lack of employees - one of the highest since the shutdown began.

The US government shutdown entered its twenty-sixth day on the weekend, making it the second most extended halt in history.

He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the quantity of aircraft in the air if there is a deficit of security staff.

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

"I need my staff concentrating on the flight paths, not on the finances at their households," Duffy stated.

On that day, some planes were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to interruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as additional travel stretching north to the city of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on the weekend. Numerous trips were operating normally before noon.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to staffing shortages, and the authority indicated DFW, the second-busiest airfield in the country, could encounter difficulties from reduced staff later in the day.

The agency warned travelers 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 night, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest times to travel by air in the US.

Strain on US air travel helped end a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and affected flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led a number of air traffic controllers to stay home on the identical date on 25 January 2019, briefly halting movement at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the time was in his initial presidency as president, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the government shutdown after 35 days.