The Association of Major European Airports is advising passengers traveling this summer to "arrive early" at airports, many of which are seeing long lines amid staffing shortages, and other issues. 

In an interview with Agence France-Presse on the sidelines of the association's annual conference in Rome, the Director General of ACI Europe, the European branch of the Airports International, Olivier Jankovic, defended the increase in airport fees, which airlines regularly denounce, and said that "the system has not collapsed."

Many European airports have serious operational problems, with passengers waiting for hours, even before the peak in July and August.

He noted that European airports are excluded from an EU 750 billion euro recovery plan, making it difficult for them to transition back to normalcy as quick as other sectors. 

"There will be congestion, disruption, and longer waiting times, but in the vast majority of airports people will not miss their planes and hopefully everyone will be able to reach their destination as planned," he said.