Researchers at the University of Illinois think they can save you time at the airport.  This year flight delays reached an all time high and it's only expected to get worse. The government says something needs to be done.
    Researchers say the answer is a complete overhaul of the current system.
   One example would be to decrease the role of the air traffic controller and give the pilots and planes more control. It's something they say can save you hours of waiting in terminals.

There's not much to do when you're stuck in an airport waiting hours for your plane. "It's extremely frustrating, especially when you spend a lot of time at a connecting airport,"  says Andreas Moser of Bloomington.

Some have gotten so used to it, delays don't even bother them anymore.  "I usually have a book or something and I'm just prepared for it. I understand it's just part of the experience these days," says Elihu Smith of Champaign.

But researchers at the U of I say something needs to be done.  In the next 30 years, air traffic is expected to triple.   That's why they're working on a massive overhaul of the system developed in the 60's.   They're equipping model planes with new and improved sensors so pilots can make more decisions and not rely on air traffic control.

"If a pilot who's encountering a storm is able to weave around it, he can save literally an hour off of flight time instead of circling, waiting for the controller to clear him and then flying a completely elongated route," says assistant professor Natasha Neogi.

The process is far from complete, but researchers hope the wiring and technology they put inside the small planes will help the real ones become more efficient in flight.  "We want to be able to show that these aircraft can fly their own routes, not have any conflict, not have any potential mid-air crashes and essentially manage their own airspace," says Neogi.

Another part of the plan is bringing more flights to airports that are underutilized, like Willard Airport in Savoy.  Some congestion occurs because the majority of flights take off and land in only 65 airports.  There are 5,000 more out there that could help alleviate some of the congestion