Adelaide Airport Limited reported record numbers of international passengers in December 2013.

More than 90,000 international passengers flowed through the airport following the start of Air Asia X’s Kuala Lumpur service and Jetstar’s Auckland and Bali services.

The record December result was up 24 per cent from the previous record set in July 2013.

Year to date international passengers increased by 23.7 per cent, reflecting both an improvement in load factors and a 13.8 per cent increase in capacity, the company said in a statement today.

“The commencement of Air Asia X and Jetstar this quarter is an important achievement for Adelaide Airport, with the introduction of these carriers bringing both low cost international travel to the Adelaide market and the option of a second carrier on several popular routes,” AAL’s managing director Mark Young said.

Domestic passengers grew 3.9 per cent to 3.2 million for the year to date.

The Adelaide–Melbourne route provided the largest contribution to growth, with the Darwin and Gold Coast routes also showing solid growth.

Further domestic growth is expected in the second half after Tigerair’s Brisbane and Sydney services start in March 2014.

Regional passengers decreased by 7.6 per cent on prior year primarily as a result of a reduction in Fly-In Fly-Out workers in the resource industry.