A Number of Injured as Rough Air Impacts Delta Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services said they treated a total of five people, and transported three to hospital with relatively minor issues that such as pain in the back and migraines. Those affected were between their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

On board were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the representative added, adding that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Paramedics reported they got a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane touched down, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is getting more common - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of more than 35 million journeys that now take off around the world.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing disturbed air generate in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As global warming shifts weather patterns, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.