A Number of Injured as Turbulence Impacts Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries after a Delta aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Local paramedics stated they assessed five individuals, and transferred a trio to the hospital with minor injuries that included spinal discomfort and headaches. Those affected were between their thirties and seventies.

This marks the most recent case of aircraft encountering turbulence, with aviation specialists pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official said, adding that the plane touched down "without further incident" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is getting more frequent - and often stronger.

During the past year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a terrifying brief five-second of severe turbulence. One passenger died and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is fairly routine while flying, and while cases of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million journeys that currently occur around the world.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a plane going through unstable air exert more than a significant G-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As climate change alters the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are expected to increase the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.