A Number of Affected as Rough Air Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney

Several people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines jet traveling from LA to Sydney experienced rough air on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated five patients, and transferred three of them to the hospital with relatively minor issues that such as back pain and migraines. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the latest incident of commercial jets encountering turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that shifting climate patterns is a significant contributor.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the official added, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics said they got a call just three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is getting more common - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "severe" turbulence just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight experienced a harrowing brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual died and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while instances of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are around five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a plane experiencing unstable air exert more than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As global warming shifts the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become bumpier: warming trends and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are likely to heighten the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.