  What time does a clock tell after quantum tunneling? Predictions and indirect
measurements range from superluminal or instantaneous tunneling to finite
durations, depending on the specific experiment and the precise definition of
the elapsed time. Proposals and implementations utilize the atomic motion to
define this delay, even though the inherent quantum nature of atoms implies a
delocalization and is in sharp contrast to classical trajectories. Here, we
rely on an operational approach: we prepare atoms in a coherent superposition
of internal states and study the time read off via a Ramsey sequence after the
tunneling process without the notion of classical trajectories or velocities.
Our operational framework (a) unifies definitions of tunneling delay within one
approach; (b) connects the time to a frequency standard given by a conventional
atomic clock which can be boosted by differential light shifts; and (c)
highlights that there exists no superluminal or instantaneous tunneling.
