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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 federal closure, the transport chief has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," the official told Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the Californian coast 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 duties without pay.

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

Over 3,000 US flights were postponed on Sunday, and Duffy said he anticipates the situation to grow worse.

"I observe the stress," Duffy said in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, adding that he had spoken to several controllers to hear their worries firsthand.

"They are pursuing side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to secure another source of income to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy further mentioned that on Saturday 22 alerts at airfields indicated flights would be held up due to a shortage of employees - among the peak since the shutdown started.

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

Duffy has consistently cautioned that flight authorities would slow down the number of aircraft in the sky if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his conversation, he declined to respond straightforwardly when questioned if it was secure to fly in the US, and instead issued a personal plea to the professionals.

"I require my controllers concentrating on the flight paths, not on the finances at their households," the official said.

On that day, some planes were grounded at LAX due to employee deficits, leading to disruption at the fifth-busiest terminal in the nation and among the most crowded in the world, as well as other flights stretching north to the city of Oakland.

The FAA notice went out at 8:45 AM local time on the weekend. Many flights were operating normally by midday.

Flights at Newark Airport, though, were delayed an average of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the FAA said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airport in the US, could encounter difficulties from low staffing later in the day.

The agency advised travelers in the state to consult carriers about revised flight schedules.

The situation comes ahead of Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the halt had entered its fifth week and affected flight services, including pilot training.

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

On that date, the former president, who at the time was in his first term as president, consented to approve a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the federal closure after 35 days.