Several Injured as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Plane Arriving in Sydney, Australia

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

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they assessed a total of five people, and transferred three to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised back pain and migraines. Those affected were between their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of planes being hit by severe turbulence, with researchers indicating that climate change is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.

Paramedics said they received a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe.

Last year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" rough air just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a frightening short but intense bout of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are around thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of more than 35 million journeys that now take off globally.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet going through unstable air apply more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As climate change alters weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become more turbulent: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.