An aircraft carrier is leaving its home at the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia to make its final journey on Thursday morning.

The remains of the Navy’s last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CV-67) is on its way from the Navy’s Philadelphia Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility to Brownsville, Texas for dismantling.

PHILADELPHIA — The ex-John F. Kennedy (CV 67) is scheduled to commence its final transit from the U.S. Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia to Brownsville, Texas for dismantling, Jan. 15.

The decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy started its final voyage this week with an end destination set for Brownsville, Texas. The ship had been out of service since 2007 and spent the past nearly 18 years at the Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia.

"Big John," as it was affectionately nicknamed, was decommissioned in 2007 and has been in Philadelphia ever since.