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.

The 1,052-foot-long ship, which has been housed at the U.S. Navy’s Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility since 2008, is making its final voyage on the way to the scrap heap.

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

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

The retired U.S. Navy vessel will head to Brownsville, Texas, on a two-week journey that will end with the aircraft carrier's dismantling.

"Commissioned on Sept. 7, 1968, CV 67 was the first Navy ship to be named John F. Kennedy and was the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier built by the U.S. Navy," Naval Sea Systems Public Affairs said in a news release.

The USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier sets off for its final voyage to a Texas scrapyard after decades of naval service.

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

Goodbye Big John; Ex- John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier on its final voyage

On a cold, dreary Thursday in Philadelphia, a smattering of people came to the waterfront to see the former Kitty Hawk class aircraft carrier U.S.S. John F. Kennedy (CV-67) begin its final journey. Nicknamed “Big John,