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US air traffic controllers are increasingly seeking additional employment and reporting ill, as they remain on duty unpaid during the government shutdown, the transport chief has announced.

"The controllers are wearing thin," the official informed Fox News on Sunday, as some flights were grounded on the Californian coast due to personnel deficits.

Following the federal closure on 1 October, flight controllers, who are considered essential workers, were told to keep doing their jobs without pay.

But a number have been missing, leading airports to stop or slow their flight operations, which has added to setbacks caused by weather and other issues.

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

"I observe the stress," he remarked in an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, noting that he had spoken to multiple professionals to hear their worries directly.

"They are pursuing second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Can I work for Uber, am I able to find an alternative of earnings to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy added that on the previous day 22 alerts at airports indicated travel would be delayed due to a lack of workers - among the peak since the shutdown started.

The American federal closure reached its 26th day on the weekend, rendering it the second-longest halt in history.

Duffy has consistently cautioned that aviation regulators would reduce the number of aircraft in the air if there is a deficit of security staff.

In his conversation, he declined to respond directly when questioned if it was safe to fly in the US, and instead made a personal plea to the professionals.

"I need my controllers focused on the flight paths, not on the finances at their households," the official stated.

On Sunday, certain flights were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport due to employee deficits, leading to interruption at the fifth most active airport in the nation and among the most crowded in the globe, as well as additional travel stretching upward to the city of Oakland.

The FAA alert went out at 08:45 in the morning on Sunday. Numerous trips were back on schedule before noon.

Travel at Newark Airport, however, were postponed an mean of over an hour due to personnel issues, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airport in the country, could encounter difficulties from low staffing in the afternoon.

The FAA advised travelers in the state to check with carriers about revised departure times.

The situation precedes the third match of the championship, which is due to be played in LA on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, among the peak times to travel by air in the US.

Strain on US air travel contributed to ending a government shutdown in 2019. Back then, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and disrupted airline operations, including pilot training.

It prompted several flight controllers to remain absent on the same day on 25 January 2019, temporarily stopping 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, bringing an end to the federal closure after 35 days.