A Number of Injured as Rough Air Impacts A Delta Airlines Flight Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people have been injured following a Delta flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced rough air on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson told. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services stated they assessed five individuals, and transported three to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and migraines. Those affected spanned from their thirties and seventies.

It is the most recent case of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that climate change is a major factor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official added, adding that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Emergency responders said they received a call just a mere three minutes before the plane arrived, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. A traveler died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Intense turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a plane passing through rough air masses exert more than 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As climate change alters atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.