Definition
A printed or electronic flight progress strip used by air traffic controllers to track an IFR aircraft's departure clearance and progress. It contains key flight information such as the aircraft's call sign, type, departure airport, route, altitude, and assigned transponder code, and is handed off or updated as the aircraft moves through different control sectors.
Plain English
A small slip of information — paper or on-screen — that controllers use to keep track of a departing IFR flight and its clearance details.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of tower and TRACON coordination, especially when a departing aircraft is handed from the airport tower to radar control.
Derivation
Called a 'strip' because it was originally a narrow paper strip slotted into a holder on the controller's console. 'Departure' identifies its purpose — tracking aircraft leaving the airport rather than arriving.
Why Pilots Care
The departure strip is how controllers hold and pass along your clearance, route, and squawk code. Knowing it exists helps explain why controllers sometimes pause to read or update information before responding — they're working from the strip that represents your flight.
Intuition Check
A departure strip is not a strip of runway or pavement used for takeoff. In this context, it is an air traffic control record for a departing flight.
Example Sentence 1
Before issuing the clearance, the controller reviewed the departure strip to confirm the assigned route and altitude.
Example Sentence 2
After the handoff to the next sector, the controller updated the departure strip with the actual departure time.