Several Affected as Rough Air Impacts Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

Several people were hurt after a Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier told. Four flight attendants were injured.

Local paramedics reported they evaluated five patients, and transported a trio to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that included pain in the back and headaches. The injured were between their 30s to 70s.

It is the newest example of aircraft encountering atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists pointing out that climate change is a major factor.

On board were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson said, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they were alerted just three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "significant" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a terrifying short but intense bout of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while instances of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Research indicates that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a total of more than 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Intense turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a plane going through unstable air apply greater than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.