National Zoo's giant pandas start 19-hour journey back to China

A special jumbo jet dubbed the FedEx Giant Panda Express is scheduled to depart at 1pm.

It's a surprisingly early departure — the bears were slated to leave before early December, and then mid-November — that leaves D.C. panda-less for the first time in more than two decades.The zoo had declined to share the panda's exact travel dates ahead of time due to security concerns.The three pandas — patriarch Tian Tian , mom Mei Xiang , and their 3-year-old cub Xiao Qi Ji — are headed to the China Wildlife Conservation Association in Chengdu.

There, they'll board a special jumbo jet — the FedEx Giant Panda Express — scheduled to depart at 1pm. The zoo's chief veterinarian and panda handlers accompany them on the long journey, and serve a constant in-flight menu of water, bamboo, and the pandas' favorite snacks .The U.S.'s remaining two panda cubs and their parents at Zoo Atlanta are slated to return to ChinaThe bottom line:

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