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US air traffic controllers are increasingly looking for additional employment and reporting ill, as they remain on duty without pay during the government shutdown, the transport chief has stated.

"The controllers are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told Fox News on the weekend, as certain aircraft were halted on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

Following the government shut down on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are considered critical staff, were instructed to continue performing their jobs without pay.

But some have been missing, leading terminals to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays due to weather and additional factors.

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

"I am seeing the stress," he said in an interview on a weekend program, noting that he had met with several controllers to hear their concerns directly.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, can I find another source of income to cover expenses?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on Saturday 22 alerts at airports said travel would be delayed due to a shortage of workers - one of the highest after the shutdown began.

The US government shutdown reached its 26th day on Sunday, making it the second most extended shutdown in history.

Duffy has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would slow down the quantity of aircraft in the sky if there is a deficit of security staff.

In his interview, he would not answer directly when asked if it was safe to fly in the US, and instead made a direct appeal to controllers.

"I need my staff focused on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at home," Duffy said.

On Sunday, certain flights were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, causing interruption at the fifth most active airport in the country and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as other flights extending north to the metropolis of Oakland.

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

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the authority indicated DFW, the second most active airport in the country, could experience difficulties from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The agency warned passengers in the state to consult airlines about revised flight schedules.

The situation precedes the third match of the championship, which is due to be played in LA on Monday evening, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to travel by air in the US.

Strain on US air travel helped end a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led several flight controllers to remain absent on the identical date on 25 January 2019, briefly halting movement at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

That same day, the former president, who at the period was in his first term as president, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the federal closure after 35 days.