A Number of Affected as Turbulence Hits Delta Flight into Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta Airlines aircraft from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official informed. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Emergency medical services stated they assessed a total of five people, and took three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised spinal discomfort and migraines. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

This marks the latest incident of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with researchers indicating that global warming is a significant contributor.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the official added, stating that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

Emergency responders said they received a call just three minutes before the plane touched down, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

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

During the past year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "significant" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a total of over 35 million flights that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a jet passing through disturbed air apply in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are expected to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.