Multiple Affected as Rough Air Strikes Delta Aircraft into Sydney, Australia

Several people were hurt following a Delta Airlines jet originating in Los Angeles to Sydney experienced turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. Several cabin crew members were injured.

Local paramedics said they evaluated five individuals, and transported three of them to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised pain in the back and head pain. Those affected were between their thirties and seventies.

This marks the latest incident of commercial jets encountering turbulence, with researchers saying that climate change is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the official said, adding that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is getting more common - and more severe.

During the past year, two dozen individuals were hurt when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening brief five-second period of extreme instability. A traveler died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are around 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of over 35 million journeys that now take off worldwide.

Severe turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through rough air masses generate in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate shifts the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that flying could become bumpier: warming trends and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are likely to increase the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.