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American flight controllers are increasingly looking for second jobs and reporting ill, as they continue to work unpaid amid the government shutdown, the transportation secretary has stated.

"The controllers are becoming strained," the official told Fox News on the weekend, as some flights were halted on the California shoreline due to staffing shortages.

After the federal closure on October 1st, air traffic controllers, who are considered critical staff, were instructed to continue performing their duties without pay.

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

Over 3,000 US flights were postponed on the weekend, and Duffy said he anticipates the situation to grow worse.

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

"They're taking second jobs, they're out there searching, 'Should I work for Uber, am I able to secure an alternative of income to make ends meet?'" he continued.

Duffy further mentioned that on the previous day 22 alerts at airfields said flights would be delayed due to a shortage of employees - among the peak after the closure started.

The US government shutdown entered its twenty-sixth day on Sunday, rendering it the second-longest shutdown in the past.

He has repeatedly warned that aviation regulators would slow down the number of planes in the sky if there is a shortage of security staff.

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

"I require my staff concentrating on the airspace, not on the finances at their households," 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 terminal in the country and one of the busiest in the world, as well as other flights extending north to the metropolis of Oakland.

The FAA alert was issued at 8:45 AM local time on the weekend. Numerous trips were back on schedule by midday.

Travel at Newark Airport, though, were postponed an mean of 82 minutes due to personnel issues, and the authority said Dallas Fort-Worth, the second most active airport in the country, could encounter problems from low staffing in the afternoon.

The agency advised travelers in California to consult airlines about revised flight schedules.

The situation precedes the third match of the World Series, which is due to be played in LA on Monday evening, and approximately four weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest times to travel by air in the United States.

Pressure on American aviation contributed to ending a government shutdown in 2019. Back then, the shutdown had reached its fifth week and affected airline operations, including pilot training.

It led several air traffic controllers to stay home 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 period was in his first term as president, agreed to sign a temporary funding measure, effectively ending the government shutdown after thirty-five days.