Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Flight into Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Emergency medical services said they assessed a total of five people, and transferred a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised back pain and migraines. The injured ranged from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the most recent case of aircraft encountering atmospheric disturbance, with experts saying that climate change is a key driver.

There were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics said they received a call just three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "considerable" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a frightening brief five-second period of extreme instability. One passenger died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine while flying, and while occurrences of strong or severe 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 each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet passing through disturbed air apply greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.