A Number of Affected as Turbulence Impacts Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people have been injured following a Delta flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered turbulence on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

Emergency medical services reported they assessed five individuals, and transported three of them to hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and migraines. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets encountering atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a key driver.

There were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, adding that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they received a call just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

Last year, 25 people were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "severe" turbulence just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a terrifying brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while instances of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.

Research indicates that there are around five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of more than 35 million journeys that currently occur globally.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft going through rough air masses generate greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate shifts the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are projected to increase the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.