STORYLINE AIRPLANE MODE NEWS AIRPLANE MODE JAN 27 2018, 5:58 AM ET Erdogan flexes political muscle with new $11B airport in Istanbul by ALASTAIR JAMIESON LONDON — For centuries it has been at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Now Istanbul is making a bid to be a global meeting place with a new $11 billion airport that aims to overtake Atlanta as the world’s busiest. Next month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s jet will be the first to land at the airport — the latest in a string of high-profile public projects that he hopes will boost an economy weakened by terrorism and a failed coup in 2016 as the country faces a crucial election next year. Called simply New Istanbul Airport, the project follows the commission of a 250-mile toll freeway, the opening of a $1.2 billion rail-and-road bridge stretching 1.4 miles across the Bosporus and the $66.5 million landmark Camlica mosque, the largest in Turkey . Also planned is a