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US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they continue to work without pay during the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

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

After the federal closure on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were told to keep doing their jobs uncompensated.

But some have been absent, causing airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays caused by weather and additional factors.

More than three thousand US flights were delayed on the weekend, and Duffy stated he expects the circumstances to grow worse.

"I observe the pressure," he remarked in an discussion on a weekend program, noting that he had spoken to several controllers to listen to their worries firsthand.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there looking, 'Should I work for Uber, am I able to secure another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.

The secretary further mentioned that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields said flights would be held up due to a shortage of workers - among the peak since the closure began.

The American federal closure entered its 26th day on the weekend, making it the second most extended shutdown in history.

Duffy has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would reduce the quantity of planes in the air if there is a shortage of security staff.

In his interview, he declined to respond directly when questioned if it was safe to fly in the United States, and instead made a personal plea to the professionals.

"I require my staff focused on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at their households," the official said.

On that day, some planes were stopped at LAX due to staffing shortages, causing interruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the nation and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights stretching upward to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration notice was issued at 8:45 AM in the morning on Sunday. Numerous trips 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 airfield in the country, could encounter problems from low staffing later in the day.

The FAA warned passengers in California to consult carriers about revised flight schedules.

The issue precedes the third match of the championship, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday night, and approximately four weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest times to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on American aviation contributed to ending a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the halt had entered its fifth week and affected flight services, including aviator instruction.

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

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his initial presidency as leader, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the government shutdown after thirty-five days.