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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for additional employment and reporting ill, as they continue to work without pay amid the government shutdown, the transport chief has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," the official informed a news outlet on the weekend, as some flights were halted on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

Following the government shut down on October 1st, flight controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were told to keep doing their jobs without pay.

But a number have been missing, causing terminals to stop or slow their flight operations, which has exacerbated delays due to climate and other issues.

Over 3,000 US flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy stated he expects the situation to grow worse.

"I observe the pressure," Duffy said in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had spoken to multiple professionals to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I work for Uber, can I find another source of income to make ends meet?'" he added.

Duffy added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields said travel would be delayed due to a lack of workers - one of the highest after the shutdown began.

The US government shutdown reached its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, making it the second most extended halt in the past.

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would reduce the quantity of planes in the air if there is a shortage of safety personnel.

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

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

On Sunday, certain flights were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, leading to disruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as additional travel extending north to the city of Oakland.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert was issued at 8:45 AM in the morning on the weekend. Many flights were operating normally before noon.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were delayed an average of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the authority said DFW, the second most active airfield in the country, could encounter difficulties from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The FAA warned travelers in California to check with airlines about revised flight schedules.

The issue precedes Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and about one month before the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak periods to fly in the US.

Pressure on US air travel helped end a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the halt had reached its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including pilot training.

It led several air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on 25 January 2019, briefly halting travel at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

On that date, Donald Trump, who at the time was in his initial presidency as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after thirty-five days.