It's not really surprising that Atlanta doesn't see the need to invest for the A380 at the moment because it's operators are unlikely to want to take it there - which is probably where the Atlanta officials started with their decision. For example, I don't think there is a single operator of passenger 747s into Atlanta today. So their past investment for 747s is currently wasted too.

The A380 will get used by European and Asian airlines to go to the main US gateways like JFK or LAX. That is where the volume is. The mid-continent US hubs like Atlanta or Dallas, despite their major role in US domestic connecting traffic, do not handle much international traffic in comparison. And what they do handle is principally on the airline whose base is there - Delta at Atlanta, American at Dallas, etc. The handful of overseas operators that go to these places and who have 747s in their fleets use their secondary types, 777s or 340, to go there.

US operators are unlikely to take the A380 because they subscribe to the smaller-aircraft approach (note how few currently have 747s) for a range of reasons we have gone into here on FT many times before. They also have no money, which I believe Airbus might be expecting in return for their aircraft !