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US air traffic controllers are increasingly looking for additional employment and calling in sick, as they continue to work unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are becoming strained," Sean Duffy told a news outlet on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted on the California shoreline due to personnel deficits.

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

But a number have been missing, leading terminals to halt or reduce their flight operations, which has added to delays caused by climate and additional factors.

More than 3,000 US flights were postponed on Sunday, and Duffy said he expects the situation to deteriorate further.

"I am seeing the pressure," Duffy said in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had spoken to multiple professionals to listen to their concerns directly.

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

The secretary further mentioned that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airfields said flights would be delayed due to a lack of employees - one of the highest since the shutdown began.

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

He has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the quantity of planes in the air if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his interview, he would not answer directly when questioned if it was secure to travel by air in the US, and instead issued a direct appeal to the professionals.

"I require my controllers concentrating on the flight paths, not on the finances at home," the official stated.

On that day, some planes were stopped at LAX due to staffing shortages, causing disruption at the fifth most active airport in the nation and one of the busiest in the world, as well as additional travel extending north to the metropolis of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 08:45 local time on the weekend. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were delayed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the FAA said DFW, the second most active airfield in the US, could encounter problems from low staffing later in the day.

The FAA warned passengers in the state to consult carriers about updated departure times.

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the World Series, which is due to be played in LA on Monday night, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest periods to fly in the United States.

Strain on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including pilot training.

It prompted several air traffic controllers to remain absent on the identical date 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 initial presidency as president, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the government shutdown after thirty-five days.