Multiple Affected as Turbulence Strikes Delta Aircraft into Sydney, Australia

Several people were hurt after a Delta aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson stated. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Local paramedics said they treated five individuals, and transported a trio to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and migraines. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

This marks the newest example of commercial jets being hit by severe turbulence, with researchers indicating that climate change is a major factor.

There were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane landed "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Emergency responders reported they were alerted just three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more common - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, 25 people were hurt when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "significant" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a harrowing brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine during flights, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of over 35 million aircraft departures that now take off globally.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a plane experiencing disturbed air generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As climate change modifies the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.