Fascinating little bit of info from a news page in France

(it's in French)
http://fr.biz.yahoo.com/050201/5/490yq.html


My French is a little rusty, so I used Babelfish to rough out the translation



Babel Fish Translation

In English:
The A380 Airbus Considered to be Undesirable In Atlanta ATLANTA (AP) - the European airframe manufacturer Airbus can have built well the largest commercial aircraft of the world, this apparatus, A380, will not have the right to land in the near future in Atlanta, one of the most attended airports of the United States, announced the general manager of the airport. Ben DeCosta explained that the international airport Hartsfield-Jackson of Atlanta was not certified for the landing of A380. Moreover, it estimates that the market is not ready for the very large transport aircraft of a capacity from 500 to 800 passengers, thus taking again one of the arguments of Boeing. The airport, estimated Mr. DeCosta, should carry out important work which "would cost million dollars" to accomodate the apparatus of a scale of 80 meters and of which the total height, measured at the top of the drift, is of 24m. The "taxiways" (lanes) should be widened and there is also the question of the loading of the passengers in the narrow hall of the airport, specifies Mr. DeCosta. "You must make assemble at least 500 people and you cannot do it by a door", affirms it. Work of enlarging for an amount of six billion dollars (4,6 billion euros) is already in hand on the site, but of other investments would be necessary to accomodate A380, according to the spokesman of the airport Felicia Browder. For the airport of Atlanta, the economic advantages of A380 do not compensate for the costs related to the modifications. "It is not the moment nor the place", estimates Mrs. Browder. "It is what the direction of the airport thinks today." Joined by Associated Press, a spokesman of Airbus abstained from commenting on the decision of the airport but recalled that "A380 can be posed in any airport which can accomodate of the Boeing 747", even if the air terminals must receive installations. A380, which will be brought into service in 2006, will be able to transport 555 passengers in typical configuration three classes and up to 850 in the versions high density. Vis-a-vis with the regular increase in the passenger traffic, "it is much more advantageous economically to carry out investments to accomodate A380 than to create a new track", the spokesman of the European airframe manufacturer affirms. A380 was conceived in dialogue with the principal airline companies, the official services and the representatives of an about sixty international airports. They required that the apparatus fall under a "square of the 80m" (not to exceed 80m length, 80m of scale and 80 feet, is 24m height), in order to not involve a radical modification of the airport infrastructures. AP




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I agree with ATL on this one. If people want th4e Whaleship they need to go to/connect in a bigger airport...Can you imagine being in the takeoff line with the beastplane...