EKS-managed node groups install a built-in ASG “terminate” lifecycle hook that drains your node for up to 15 minutes before actually killing the EC2 instance. So when you scale 1 to 0, you always wait the full hook timeout (15 min. aprox.) instead of the usual 1–2 min drain. check out: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/managed-node-groups.html