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US air traffic controllers are increasingly seeking additional employment and calling in sick, as they continue to work unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transport chief has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," the official informed Fox News on the weekend, as certain aircraft were halted on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

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

But some have been missing, leading airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has added to delays due to weather and other issues.

More than three thousand US flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy said he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the stress," Duffy said in an interview on a weekend program, adding that he had met with several controllers to listen to their concerns firsthand.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to secure an alternative of income to cover expenses?'" he added.

Duffy further mentioned that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields said flights would be held up due to a lack of employees - one of the highest after the closure began.

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

Duffy has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the number of aircraft in the sky if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his conversation, he declined to respond directly when asked if it was secure to travel by air in the US, and instead issued a direct appeal to the professionals.

"I need my controllers focused on the flight paths, not on the finances at home," Duffy said.

On that day, some planes were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, leading to disruption at the fifth most active airport in the country and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as other flights extending upward to the metropolis of Oakland, California.

The FAA alert went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on Sunday. Numerous trips were operating normally before noon.

Flights at Newark Airport, though, were delayed an mean of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second-busiest airport 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 precedes Game 3 of the championship, which is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday evening, and about one month prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, among the peak times to travel by air in the United States.

Strain on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in 2019. At the time, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It prompted a number of flight controllers to stay home 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 period was in his initial presidency as president, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, bringing an end to the federal closure after thirty-five days.