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US air traffic controllers are more and more seeking second jobs and calling in sick, as they remain on duty unpaid during the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," the official informed Fox News on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

After the government shut down on October 1st, flight controllers, who are deemed critical staff, were instructed to keep doing their duties without pay.

But a number have been missing, causing airports to stop or slow their plane traffic, which has exacerbated setbacks caused by climate and other issues.

Over three thousand American flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy said he expects the circumstances to grow worse.

"I am seeing the pressure," he remarked in an interview on a weekend program, adding that he had spoken to multiple professionals to hear their worries directly.

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I work for Uber, can I secure another source of earnings to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy further mentioned that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields said travel would be delayed due to a lack of workers - among the peak since the closure began.

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

He has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would slow down the quantity of planes in the sky if there is a deficit of safety personnel.

In his interview, he declined to respond straightforwardly when questioned if it was safe to fly in the United States, and instead made a direct appeal to the professionals.

"I need my controllers focused on the airspace, not on the monetary matters at home," the official said.

On that day, some planes were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages, causing interruption at the fifth-busiest airport in the country and among the most crowded in the world, as well as additional travel stretching north to the city of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 8:45 AM in the morning on Sunday. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, though, were delayed an average of over an hour due to staffing shortages, and the authority indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the country, could encounter problems from low staffing later in the day.

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

The issue comes ahead of the third match of the championship, which is scheduled in LA on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest times to fly in the US.

Pressure on American aviation helped end a government shutdown in two thousand nineteen. Back then, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including pilot training.

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

On that date, Donald Trump, who at the time was in his first term as president, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the government shutdown after thirty-five days.