Several Affected as Rough Air Impacts Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

A number of individuals have been injured after a Delta Airlines flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced rough air on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson told. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Local paramedics said they evaluated five patients, and took a trio to hospital with relatively minor issues that included pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the most recent case of aircraft being hit by severe turbulence, with experts pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the official noted, stating that the plane arrived "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they got a call just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is growing more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.

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

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a frightening short but intense bout of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.

Research indicates that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million flights that are conducted around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft going through disturbed air generate greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As global warming shifts weather patterns, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are projected to increase the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.