Built for American Airlines, NASA acquired the aircraft in 1974 and used it for test flights from Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert and ferry flights to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

MSN: What it's like to fly a plane carrying shuttle - Technology & science - Space | NBC News

Flights and ferry services have also been disrupted or cancelled.

BBC: Weather - Melor affects the south of Japan

Even as the cruise ship was still being towed to harbor, Carnival announced plans to accommodate passengers in local hotels and ferry them home on charter flights as soon as possible.

FORBES: How Did Carnival, Boeing, Barclays, and Tesco Squander Our Trust? How Do They Win It Back?

In addition, Carnival has arranged for more than 20 chartered flights on Friday to ferry the stranded vacationers to Houston, the closest major city to the cruise's origination point, Carnival President Gerald Cahill has said.

CNN: Befouled cruise ship scheduled for Thursday docking

The islands, which have a population of 2, 200, have aeroplane flights six days a week in good weather and a ferry, the Scillonian, which only runs in the summer.

BBC: Skybus