The demand for air cargo services in the Middle East continues to grow sharply, with new flights set to be launched at Dubai World Central (DWC) airport.

Although the global air freight industry is generally going through a rocky patch at the moment, places like the United Arab Emirates appear to be bucking the wider trend.

Dubai Airports - the organisation that runs DWC and Dubai International Airport - confirmed that Emirates SkyCargo and Air France-KLM will add daily flights from the aviation hub over the next 12 months.

Emirates SkyCargo chiefs said all dedicated freight services would operate from its new base at DWC, which is due to open in May 2014. Meanwhile, Air France-KLM will relocate its main hub to the airport from August this year.

Dubai Airports chief executive officer Paul Griffiths said: "The introduction of daily scheduled cargo flights by Emirates SkyCargo as well as Air France-KLM will provide a significant fillip to growth."

The facility will also introduce passenger services for the first time in October 2013, taking some of the strain off the rapidly growing Dubai International.