Just curious, is it as complicated as for the passengers?  Does it even take place at the same terminal?

They get priority of course, but are still subject to customs/security checks at most airports.

I have seen crew zooming through the first/business class check in, ahead of paying passengers. 

Edited May 22, 20188 yr by WingZ

2 hours ago, WingZ said:

 

I have seen crew zooming through the first/business class check in, ahead of paying passengers. 

Yes but don’t forget the moment a crew reports at the airport they’re flight duty clock starts. Crews are typically given 1:20-1:30 from report to departure time to get the flight ready, and that can be tight especially if there are technical issues to resolve, so the extra 10-20 minutes it would take to patiently wait behind the passengers to get through security would in turn cause a 10-20 minute delay on departure. Ultimately if the flight is significantly delayed by weather, tech issue, or what ever ,those extra 10-20 minutes could make all the difference between the flight being cancelled or not as the crew run out of duty time.

Thats why if you see crews seemingly pushing in at the X-ray machine, they’re not being rude, they’re just on the clock.

But back to the original question, it varies from airport to airport around the world going from an almost identical process to the passengers to having a bus pick them up at the hotel and literally being dropped of on the ramp at the aircraft steps.