Portlaoise sits inside the catchment of a working airport. Dublin handles 198 nonstop destinations and 45 countries, and the drive from the centre is 1 hour 8 minutes. A courier who can be airside at DUB inside that window is worth more to the desk than a courier in a bigger city who is stuck in traffic.
Open · Ireland desk · Portlaoise
On Board Courier, Portlaoise
On board courier work out of Portlaoise. You fly as a passenger, you carry one consignment, and the airport the desk puts you through is Dublin, 1 hour 8 minutes from the centre.
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 inPortlaoise, Leinster
Nearest gateDUB · Dublin
Drive to the aircraft92 km · 1 hour 8 minutes
Nonstop from DUB198 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 paperwork exists before you leave Portlaoise. Invoice, declaration, consignee details and, where the goods need it, the permit, all prepared in Dubai and sent to you before you leave Portlaoise. The Gulf sector out of DUB is nonstop, so there is no connection to miss. Your job at the counter is to be calm, to answer plainly and to keep the consignment in sight.
Getting to the aircraft from Portlaoise
These are the gates within reach of Portlaoise by car. The nearest, DUB, is 92 km away, about 1 hour 8 minutes, and each one is shown with what it reaches without a change of aircraft.
At 92 km the road out of Portlaoise is predictable rather than trivial, so the offer carries a leaving time and the traffic is allowed for on top of it. A courier in Portlaoise is not stuck with one board. SNN at 1 hour 40 minutes carries 37 nonstop destinations of its own, which is what stops a cancellation ending an assignment.
| IATA | Airport | By road | Driving time | Nonstop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUB | Dublin | 92 km | 1 hour 8 minutes | 198 |
| SNN | Limerick city Shannon | 139 km | 1 hour 40 minutes | 37 |
| ORK | Cork | 175 km | 2 hours | 39 |
Portlaoise is a city of 23,000 people in Leinster, and the clock there runs 3 hours behind the Emirates in summer and 4 in winter. Road distances are measured driving routes rather than straight lines, and nonstop counts come from the scheduled route data this site publishes.
What DUB reaches without a change
Below is what Dublin actually flies, taken from the same scheduled route datthe rest of the site uses: 198 nonstop destinations, 49 carriers, ordered by average daily flights.
| IATA | City | Airport | Frequency | Operators |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDI | Edinburgh | Edinburgh | about 24 departures a day | 2 operators: Aer Lingus, Ryanair |
| MAN | Manchester | Manchester | about 22 departures a day | 3 operators: Aer Lingus, Ryanair |
| LHR | London | London Heathrow | about 21 departures a day | 2 operators: Aer Lingus, British Airways |
| BHX | Birmingham | Birmingham | about 16 departures a day | 2 operators: Aer Lingus, Ryanair |
| GLA | Glasgow | Glasgow | about 15 departures a day | 2 operators: Aer Lingus, Ryanair |
| AMS | Amsterdam | Amsterdam Schiphol | about 15 departures a day | 4 operators: Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Qatar Airways |
| LPL | Liverpool | Liverpool John Lennon | about 10 departures a day | 2 operators: Aer Lingus, Ryanair |
| CDG | Paris | Paris Charles de Gaulle | about 10 departures a day | 3 operators: Aer Lingus, Air France |
| BRS | Bristol | Bristol | about 10 departures a day | 2 operators: Aer Lingus, Ryanair |
| LBA | Leeds | Leeds Bradford | about 9 departures a day | 2 operators: Aer Lingus, Ryanair |
Counting every airport a courier in Portlaoise can drive to, the combined nonstop board is 201 airports. Frequencies are average daily flights and change with the season, so the desk checks the live schedule before it offers you anything.
The industry inside this catchment
The facilities below sit inside the DUB catchment and are a matter of public record. They are named to explain why consignments leave Portlaoise in a hurry, and for no other reason.
- Intel, Leixlip. Wafer fabrication in Europe. Ireland's fab, supplied from across Europe and the United States. It sits on DUB, which is 1 hour 8 minutes from Portlaoise by road, and the sector is semiconductor.
- Pfizer, Ringaskiddy and Grange Castle. Active ingredient and biologics manufacturing. Ireland manufactures for the world and ships against timepoints. It sits on DUB, which is 1 hour 8 minutes from Portlaoise by road, and the sector is pharma.
- MSD, Carlow and Ballydine. Biologics and active ingredient manufacturing. The same Irish pattern. It sits on DUB, which is 1 hour 8 minutes from Portlaoise by road, and the sector is pharma.
Why a courier in Portlaoise is useful to the desk
A city qualifies for this list when three things are true at once: a real airport within a sensible drive, a real nonstop board on it, and something in the area worth moving. Portlaoise clears all three, at 1 hour 8 minutes from DUB and 198 destinations.
The Gulf connection, stated plainly rather than advertised. From Portlaoise the Gulf is a single sector: DUB and DXB are joined nonstop, about 2 departures a day, flown by Emirates. That is roughly 7h 28m in the air over 5,900 km, and it means a consignment can leave Portlaoise in the evening and be in the Gulf before the next working day starts.
The nearest other cities on the Ireland list
Show the 12 closest, and how far each is from Portlaoise
Carlow33 km away, DUB in 1 hour 7 minutesDroichead Nua37 km away, DUB in 42 minutesAthlone61 km away, DUB in 1 hour 28 minutesDublin77 km away, DUB in 18 minutesNavan80 km away, DUB in 38 minutesBray82 km away, DUB in 35 minutesWaterford87 km away, ORK in 1 hour 50 minutesLimerick98 km away, SNN in 30 minutesDrogheda99 km away, DUB in 34 minutesEnnis115 km away, SNN in 24 minutesGalway120 km away, SNN in 1 hour 10 minutesDundalk122 km away, DUB in 54 minutes
All 15 Ireland cities are listed on the Ireland 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 DUB and the other airports listed above, between Ireland 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 1 hour 8 minutes drive to DUB. 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 DUB, 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 Portlaoise list
01How far is Portlaoise from DUB?
It is 1 hour 8 minutes by car, 92 km on the road. Traffic around Portlaoise is allowed for separately, and the parking or the transfer at DUB is paid by the desk.
02What can I reach from Portlaoise without a change of aircraft?
DUB serves 198 airports nonstop across 45 countries with 49 operating carriers, and counting every gate a courier in Portlaoise can drive to, the combined nonstop board is 201 airports. That is the practical range of a single assignment from here before anybody has to connect.
03Getting from Portlaoise to the Emirates: nonstop or not?
From Portlaoise the Gulf is a single sector: DUB and DXB are joined nonstop, about 2 departures a day, flown by Emirates. That is roughly 7h 28m in the air over 5,900 km, and it means a consignment can leave Portlaoise in the evening and be in the Gulf before the next working day starts.
04Do I have to live in the UAE to be on this list?
No. What is checked is your passport, your right to enter the country on the routing, and how quickly you can reach DUB from Portlaoise.
05Does it cost anything to apply?
No. Screening costs nothing and the Portlaoise list costs nothing. The AED 199 Academy is paid once and refunded on top of your first completed assignment fee.
06How is my fee agreed?
What you are paid is agreed in writing before you leave Portlaoise and is not adjusted afterwards. Waiting time and the return leg into Portlaoise are inside that figure rather than extra to it.
Apply to fly out of DUB
A five minute form, a background check and a short course, and you are somebody the desk can call when a consignment has to leave Portlaoise today.
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