A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Impacts A Delta Airlines Plane Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries when a Delta aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia encountered significant turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Emergency medical services stated they treated five individuals, and took a trio to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised back pain and headaches. Those affected were between their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the most recent case of planes encountering severe turbulence, with aviation specialists pointing out that climate change is a major factor.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official added, adding that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics indicated they received a call just three minutes prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and often stronger.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a certain international flight went through a terrifying short but intense bout of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a total of over 35 million journeys that are conducted globally.

Severe turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a jet going through unstable air generate greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As a changing climate shifts the conditions in the sky, experts warn that flying could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the jet stream level are projected to heighten the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.