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American flight controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

Following the government shut down on 1 October, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were told to continue performing their jobs uncompensated.

But a number have been missing, leading terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has added to setbacks caused by climate and other issues.

More than three thousand US flights were postponed on Sunday, and Duffy stated he anticipates the situation to grow worse.

"I am seeing the stress," he remarked in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had met with several controllers to hear their concerns firsthand.

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

The secretary added that on the previous day twenty-two notifications at airfields said flights would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - one of the highest after the shutdown started.

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

He has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would reduce the number of aircraft in the sky if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

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

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

On that day, some planes were grounded at LAX due to employee deficits, leading to interruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights stretching north to the city of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration notice was issued at 08:45 in the morning on Sunday. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were postponed an average of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airfield in the US, could encounter difficulties from low staffing in the afternoon.

The FAA advised travelers in California to consult airlines about revised departure times.

The issue precedes Game 3 of the championship, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday night, and about one month before the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to travel by air in the United States.

Strain on US air travel contributed to ending a federal closure in 2019. Back then, the halt had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It prompted a number of air traffic controllers to remain absent on the identical date on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping travel at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his first term as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after 35 days.