A Number of Injured as Rough Air Impacts A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they assessed five individuals, and took three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that such as spinal discomfort and migraines. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.

This marks the most recent case of commercial jets encountering turbulence, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders said they were alerted just three minutes before the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is getting more common - and often stronger.

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" turbulence just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a frightening five seconds period of extreme instability. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are around thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million journeys that are conducted globally.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through rough air masses apply more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As climate change modifies the conditions in the sky, experts warn that flying could become bumpier: warming trends and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are projected to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.