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US air traffic controllers are more and more looking for second jobs and reporting ill, as they continue to work without pay amid the federal closure, the transport chief has stated.

"The controllers are wearing thin," Sean Duffy told Fox News on Sunday, as certain aircraft were halted on the Californian coast due to staffing shortages.

After the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are deemed essential workers, were instructed to continue performing their duties without pay.

But a number have been absent, leading terminals to stop or slow their plane traffic, which has exacerbated delays caused by climate and other issues.

Over 3,000 US flights were delayed on Sunday, and the secretary stated he anticipates the circumstances to grow worse.

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

"They're taking side jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I drive Uber, am I able to secure another source of earnings to cover expenses?'" he continued.

Duffy further mentioned that on Saturday 22 alerts at airfields indicated flights would be delayed due to a lack of employees - one of the highest since the closure started.

The American federal closure reached its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, making it the second-longest halt in history.

Duffy has repeatedly warned that flight authorities would reduce the number of aircraft in the air if there is a deficit of security staff.

In his interview, he would not answer directly when questioned if it was secure to fly in the United States, and instead issued a direct appeal to the professionals.

"I require my staff focused on the flight paths, not on the monetary matters at their households," Duffy stated.

On that day, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, causing interruption at the fifth most active terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the globe, as well as other flights extending north to the city of Oakland, California.

The Federal Aviation Administration alert went out at 08:45 in the morning on Sunday. Many flights were back on schedule by midday.

Travel at Newark Liberty International Airport, however, were postponed an mean of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the FAA indicated Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airfield in the US, could experience difficulties from reduced staff later in the day.

The agency advised passengers in the state to check with airlines about updated departure times.

The situation comes ahead of the third match of the World Series, which is scheduled in LA on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on US air travel contributed to ending a federal closure in two thousand nineteen. At the time, the halt had reached its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including pilot training.

It led several flight controllers to remain absent on the identical date on January 25, 2019, briefly halting travel at New York's LaGuardia airport.

That same day, Donald Trump, who at the time was in his first term as president, consented to approve a short-term spending bill, effectively ending the federal closure after 35 days.