Several Injured as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt after a Delta jet originating in LA to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson told. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed five individuals, and transported three of them to a medical facility with minor injuries that such as spinal discomfort and headaches. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

This marks the newest example of commercial jets encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that global warming is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official said, adding that the plane landed "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they were alerted just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is growing more frequent - and more severe.

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and had to make an emergency landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a harrowing brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off globally.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet passing through rough air masses apply in excess of a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As climate change shifts weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are expected to heighten the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.