Speed here is measured door to gate, and yours is 3 hours 13 minutes. When a consignment misses its window it usually misses it on the ground, not in the air. Cobán is on the courier list because the ground half is short: 165 km to Guatemala City La Aurora, then the 26 destinations it serves without a change.
Open · Guatemala desk · Cobán
On Board Courier, Cobán
Freelance courier assignments for Cobán residents. GUA is 3 hours 13 minutes away, the ticket is the desk’s cost and never yours, and the fee is fixed in writing per trip.
OnBoard Courier is a United Arab Emirates company, contracted by ICSL FZE and run from Dubai. A city named on this site is a place we cover and route through, not a separate company in that city. Assignments are contracted under UAE law, and the terms are published in full under legal and policies.
Based inCobán, Alta Verapaz
Nearest gateGUA · Guatemala City
Drive to the aircraft165 km · 3 hours 13 minutes
Nonstop from GUA26 airports
EngagementFreelance · per assignment
Fee per assignmentAED 900 to 2,600
Apply for this position
Applying is free. Freelance · self-employed ·
posted 7 September 2026 · open until 7 March 2027
What the work pays
The fee for an assignment is agreed with you in writing before you accept it. These are the figures the site publishes, and what the desk covers on top of them.
Top published feeAED 2,000The highest fee the site shows for a single assignment: sealed medical samples in a cooled case, Dubai to Singapore.
Published band, per assignmentAED 900 to 2,600A document pouch to London is AED 1,200, an aircraft part to Frankfurt AED 1,500, an escorted watch on the Berlin lane AED 1,800.
What the flight costs youAED 0The desk books and pays the ticket, the transfers and, where the routing needs it, the hotel. A courier never fronts the fare.
The one payment you makeAED 199, returnedThe Academy, paid once. It comes back in full on top of the fee for your first completed assignment. Applying itself is free.
Fees vary with the lane, the notice, the waiting time and whether the return is immediate, so the desk quotes each assignment individually rather than pretending one number fits every trip. You are self-employed and there is no minimum: accept or decline whatever you like, and declining costs you nothing. Earnings are paid per delivery by bank transfer, they appear in your courier portal, and you can request a payout once the balance reaches AED 200. Apply and see the flight board.
You fly as a passengerOne consignment in the cabin, one handover against signature. No warehouse, no van, no round.
The desk books and pays the ticketFlight, transfers and, where the routing needs it, a hotel are booked before you leave for the airport.
Paid per assignmentA fee agreed in writing before you accept, paid to your bank account after the signature. Applying is free.
How to start, in four steps
1
Apply once
One application covers every country desk. Tell us which passports you hold and where you can travel.
2
Verification and the Academy
Identity and background check, then a short course on customs, handovers and chain of custody.
3
Your first offer
The desk sends the routing, the dates and the fee in writing. You accept or decline, nothing is automatic.
4
Fly, hand over, get paid
Collect, board, clear customs in person, hand over against signature, and the fee is paid to your account.
The assignment
The desk calls, you answer, and the clock starts. 3 hours 13 minutes to Guatemala City La Aurora, boarding pass already issued, consignment in the cabin. Where the routing runs through the Emirates it goes by way of ATL, on one ticket, with the connection booked long enough to be real. You hand over to a named person, you photograph the handover, and the assignment is closed in the portal the same day.
Getting to the aircraft from Cobán
Road, not air, decides whether Cobán gets the call. From Cobán it is 165 km to GUA and 3 hours 13 minutes behind the wheel, and the desk holds you to the check in time rather than the departure time.
The distance from Cobán to GUA is 165 km, and the desk plans it as a leg in its own right: an earlier start, a paid transfer, or a hotel by the terminal. One airport, GUA, 3 hours 13 minutes away. That is the whole picture from Cobán, and it is why the nonstop board matters more here than in a city with a choice.
| IATA | Airport | By road | Driving time | Nonstop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GUA | Guatemala City La Aurora | 165 km | 3 hours 13 minutes | 26 |
Cobán is a city of 212,000 people in Alta Verapaz, and the clock there runs 10 hours behind the Emirates all year. Road distances are measured driving routes rather than straight lines, and nonstop counts come from the scheduled route data this site publishes. Only airports this site publishes a scheduled nonstop board for are listed, so a smaller field nearer Cobán may exist and still not appear in the table above.
What GUA reaches without a change
The desk checks two things before it calls Cobán: how far you are from GUA, and what GUA flies. The second answer is 26 nonstop destinations across 11 countries.
| IATA | City | Airport | Frequency | Operators |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRS | San Benito | San Benito Mundo Maya | about 9 departures a day | 2 operators: Avianca |
| PTY | Tocumen | Tocumen | about 7 departures a day | 1 operator: Copa Airlines |
| SAL | Santa Clara | Santa Clara El Salvador | about 5 departures a day | 3 operators: Avianca, Iberia |
| MEX | Mexico City | Mexico City Licenciado Benito Juarez | about 4 departures a day | 3 operators: Volaris, Aeromexico |
| LAX | Los Angeles | Los Angeles | about 4 departures a day | 4 operators: Avianca, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines |
| IAH | Houston | Houston George Bush | about 3 departures a day | 1 operator: United Airlines |
| SJO | San José | San José Juan Santamaria | about 3 departures a day | 2 operators: Avianca, Copa Airlines |
| BOG | Bogotá | Bogotá El Dorado | about 3 departures a day | 1 operator: Avianca |
| MIA | Miami | Miami | about 2 departures a day | 1 operator: American Airlines |
| CUN | Cancún | Cancún | about 2 departures a day | 2 operators: Avianca, Volaris |
Counting every airport a courier in Cobán can drive to, the combined nonstop board is 26 airports. Frequencies are average daily flights and change with the season, so the desk checks the live schedule before it offers you anything.
What moves out of Cobán
There is no public industrial file for the GUA catchment on this site, and inventing one would make the page worse. Urgent work around Cobán comes from deadlines: a filing, a component, a batch that has to be tested somewhere else.
Why a courier in Cobán is useful to the desk
Inbound work into Alta Verapaz is the quiet half of this. Consignments arrive into Alta Verapaz as often as they leave it, and somebody has to meet the aircraft at GUA and complete the handover. A courier who already lives 3 hours 13 minutes away is the obvious answer.
The connection is the part worth understanding before you accept anything out of GUA. From Cobán the best single change is Atlanta (ATL), and ATL to AUH is flown by Etihad Airways, about one departure a day. Counting a normal connection that is around 19h 36m gate to gate, so an assignment between Cobán and the Emirates is planned as a connecting itinerary and the desk books the whole thing on one ticket.
The nearest other cities on the Guatemala list
Show the 10 closest, and how far each is from Cobán
Guatemala City93 km away, GUA in 12 minutesChichicastenango98 km away, GUA in 2 hours 18 minutesJalapa102 km away, GUA in 1 hour 54 minutesChiquimula116 km away, GUA in 3 hours 11 minutesTotonicapán123 km away, GUA in 2 hours 42 minutesEscuintla137 km away, GUA in 58 minutesQuetzaltenango142 km away, GUA in 2 hours 54 minutesJutiapa142 km away, GUA in 2 hours 2 minutesSanta Lucía Cotzumalguapa144 km away, GUA in 1 hour 28 minutesCoatepeque181 km away, GUA in 3 hours 17 minutes
All 11 Guatemala cities are listed on the Guatemala courier desk, which stays the general application for the country.
The engagement, and who we are looking for
The engagement
- Type: freelance, self-employed. You are an independent courier accepting individual assignments, not an employee, and you decide which ones you take.
- Where it runs: assignments are flown out of GUA, between Guatemala and wherever the consignment is going, with the return leg agreed per mission.
- Hours: variable. An assignment is a single trip, not a shift or a roster.
- How you are paid: a fee per completed assignment, agreed in writing before you accept it. The fees published on this site run from AED 1,200 for a document pouch to AED 2,000 for a cooled medical consignment, and the figure for your assignment reflects the lane, the notice, the waiting time and whether the return is immediate.
- What the desk pays: the flight, the transfers and, where the routing needs it, the hotel. A courier never pays for the ticket and never fronts the fare.
- Applying is free. No payment is required to apply, to be screened or to be placed on the courier list. The Academy costs AED 199, paid once, and is returned in full on top of the fee for your first completed assignment. It is the only payment a courier ever makes to us.
What we look for
- A passport with comfortable remaining validity and free pages, and the right to enter the country on the routing. The desk checks the visa position for your specific passport before any assignment is offered.
- A clean background check and a willingness to be verified. Couriers carry other people’s property.
- Availability at short notice, and a realistic view of the 3 hours 13 minutes drive to GUA. Most assignments are confirmed hours, not days, before departure.
- Presentable, calm and articulate at a customs counter. The consignment is only as smooth as the person carrying it.
- A working phone, reachable on the number you gave us, for the whole assignment.
What we provide
- The ticket. Always. A courier never pays for the flight and never fronts the fare.
- The paperwork, prepared before you reach GUA, and a named contact at the desk on both ends.
- A briefing on the consignment, the consignee and what the customs position at the far end looks like.
- A fee per completed assignment, agreed with you in advance and paid by bank transfer after the handover.
Questions about the Cobán list
01How far is Cobán from GUA?
About 3 hours 13 minutes, or 165 km of measured route. Every city on this list has that number recorded, and it is what decides who gets the call for a departure out of GUA tonight.
02What can I reach from Cobán without a change of aircraft?
GUA serves 26 airports nonstop across 11 countries with 16 operating carriers, and counting every gate a courier in Cobán can drive to, the combined nonstop board is 26 airports. That is the practical range of a single assignment from here before anybody has to connect.
03Getting from Cobán to the Emirates: nonstop or not?
From Cobán the best single change is Atlanta (ATL), and ATL to AUH is flown by Etihad Airways, about one departure a day. Counting a normal connection that is around 19h 36m gate to gate, so an assignment between Cobán and the Emirates is planned as a connecting itinerary and the desk books the whole thing on one ticket.
04Do I have to live in the UAE to be on this list?
No. The desk is in Dubai and many lanes start there, but a courier in Cobán is called precisely because they are not in Dubai. Your distance from GUA is recorded when you apply so the offers you see are ones you can actually reach.
05Does it cost anything to apply?
Nothing to apply and nothing to be screened, in Cobán or anywhere else. The single payment that exists is the AED 199 Academy, paid once and returned in full on top of your first completed assignment fee.
06How is my fee agreed?
The desk sends the routing, the timing and the fee for that specific assignment in writing. You accept or decline it. Nothing is deducted or charged without your written agreement.
Apply to fly out of GUA
Apply for the Cobán list. The next step for a courier in Cobán is a screening call, not a payment.
Apply for this positionSee all openingsThe GUA atlas entry · The Guatemala courier desk · Guatemala country guide · All courier openings · Apply to the courier network