Those long, annoying airport security screenings could soon be replaced by iris scans and micro-chips, if the International Air Transport Association has its way.

The airline industry group has introduced a new biometric system to save passengers time that calls for putting a micro-chip in passports. 

"Passengers should be able to get from curb to boarding gate with dignity," IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani said. "That means without stopping, stripping or unpacking, and certainly not groping."

Under the new system, passengers would undergo an iris scan which would be matched against information on that chip.  Then travelers would be sent through one of three 20-foot tunnels.
    
Depending on the level of security risk, passengers they'd be subjected to different degrees of searches. Airlines are hoping to have the new system in place within five years. 

"It's something that's long overdue," Transportation Security Administration Chief John Pistole said. "We're not at the checkpoint of the future yet, but we're working toward that. I think eventually we will see something similar."