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US air traffic controllers are increasingly seeking second jobs and reporting ill, as they remain on duty unpaid during the federal closure, the transport chief has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," the official told a news outlet on the weekend, as some flights were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

Following the government shut down on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were told to continue performing their duties without pay.

But a number have been absent, leading airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has added to delays due to climate and other issues.

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

"I am seeing the pressure," he said in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had met with several controllers to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there looking, 'Should I drive Uber, can I secure another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.

Duffy added that on Saturday 22 alerts at airfields said flights would be delayed due to a lack of employees - one of the highest after the closure started.

The American federal closure reached its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, rendering it the second most extended halt in history.

He has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of planes in the sky if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his interview, he would not answer directly when questioned if it was safe to travel by air in the United States, and instead made a direct appeal to controllers.

"I need my staff concentrating on the flight paths, not on the finances at home," the official said.

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

The FAA alert was issued at 08:45 in the morning on the weekend. Many flights were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, though, were delayed an mean of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA said DFW, the second most active airport in the US, could encounter difficulties from low staffing in the afternoon.

The FAA warned travelers in the state to consult airlines about revised departure times.

The situation comes ahead of the third match of the World Series, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday night, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak periods to fly in the United States.

Strain 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 affected flight services, including aviator instruction.

It prompted several flight controllers to stay home on the same day on January 25, 2019, temporarily stopping movement at New York's LaGuardia airport.

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the period was in his first term as leader, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the government shutdown after thirty-five days.