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US air traffic controllers are increasingly looking for additional employment and reporting ill, as they remain on duty without pay amid the federal closure, the transportation secretary has announced.

"These professionals are wearing thin," the official informed a news outlet on the weekend, as certain aircraft were grounded on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

After the government shut down on 1 October, air traffic controllers, who are considered essential workers, were instructed to keep doing their jobs without pay.

But a number have been absent, causing airports to halt or reduce their plane traffic, which has added to delays caused by climate and other issues.

Over three thousand US flights were delayed on Sunday, and the secretary said he expects the situation to grow worse.

"I observe the pressure," he said in an discussion on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had met with multiple professionals to hear their concerns directly.

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there looking, 'Can I drive Uber, can I find an alternative of earnings to make ends meet?'" he added.

Duffy further mentioned that on Saturday twenty-two notifications at airfields said travel would be held up due to a lack of workers - among the peak after the closure started.

The American federal closure entered its 26th day on the weekend, rendering it the second most extended halt in the past.

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

In his conversation, he declined to respond directly when asked if it was safe to fly in the US, and instead issued a direct appeal to controllers.

"I require my controllers concentrating on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at their households," Duffy said.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at LAX due to staffing shortages, causing interruption at the fifth most active terminal in the country and one of the busiest 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. Many flights were back on schedule before noon.

Flights at Newark Airport, though, were postponed an average of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the authority indicated DFW, the second-busiest airfield in the US, could experience difficulties from reduced staff in the afternoon.

The FAA advised passengers in the state to consult airlines about updated departure times.

The issue comes ahead of Game 3 of the World Series, which is scheduled in LA on Monday evening, and about one month before the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to travel by air in the US.

Pressure on US air travel helped end a government shutdown in 2019. Back then, the shutdown had entered its fifth week and disrupted flight services, including aviator instruction.

It led a number of air traffic controllers to stay home on the same day on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

On that date, the former president, who at the time was in his initial presidency as leader, agreed to sign a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the government shutdown after thirty-five days.