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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and reporting ill, as they continue to work unpaid amid the federal closure, the transportation secretary has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told Fox News on the weekend, as some flights were halted on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

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

But a number have been missing, leading airports to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has added to delays due to climate and other issues.

More than three thousand American flights were delayed on the weekend, and the secretary said he expects the situation 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 hear their concerns firsthand.

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, can I secure another source of earnings to cover expenses?'" he continued.

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

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

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

In his conversation, he would not answer straightforwardly when questioned 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 finances at their households," the official stated.

On that day, some planes were stopped at LAX due to employee deficits, causing interruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the nation and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as other flights 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 back on schedule by midday.

Travel at Newark Airport, though, were postponed an average of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the authority said DFW, the second-busiest airport in the country, could encounter problems from reduced staff later in the day.

The FAA warned travelers in California to consult airlines about updated flight schedules.

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is due to be played in Los Angeles on Monday night, and about one month before the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak periods to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the halt had reached its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including pilot training.

It prompted several flight controllers to remain absent on the identical date on January 25, 2019, temporarily stopping movement at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

That same day, the former president, who at the time was in his initial presidency as leader, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the government shutdown after 35 days.