Flight progress strip

They may even be used to provide a quick reminder to the controller of other pertinent information, e.g. the time when night begins or ends.

Strips are delivered to en route facilities 30 minutes before the flight is expected to enter their airspace.

[1] In addition a strip may be "cocked out", or offset, from normal alignment to highlight potential issues.

Further information is then added by controllers and assistants in various colored pens to show the role of person making the annotation.

In fact, the term "handoff," which is used today to denote the computerized transfer of control of an aircraft from one sector to another, comes from the older technique of physically handing off the flight progress strip to the next controller to denote the transfer of responsibility.