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

The aircraft carrier, which has been docked in South Philadelphia since 2008, will make its exit through the Delaware River.

(Tribune News Service) — The decommissioned aircraft carrier formerly known as the USS John F. Kennedy has begun its final journey, departing from its long-held berth in South Philadelphia Thursday morning.

A historic ship that's called Philadelphia home for decades is finally leaving town for good. The USS John F Kennedy will leave the Navy Yard in South Philly on Thursday. The retired aircraft carrier is going to Texas where it will be taken apart.

The retired USS John F. Kennedy​ aircraft carrier will embark on its final voyage after spending nearly two decades docked in Philadelphia.

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.