Several Affected as Rough Air Strikes A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured following a Delta flight originating in LA to Sydney, Australia encountered rough air Friday morning.

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

Emergency medical services stated they treated five patients, and took three of them to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included back pain and migraines. Those affected were between their 30s to 70s.

This marks the newest example of aircraft being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts saying that global warming is a major factor.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official said, clarifying that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, 25 people sustained injuries when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "severe" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a terrifying five seconds period of extreme instability. An individual died and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are around five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a overall number of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted worldwide.

Severe turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a aircraft passing through rough air masses exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As climate change shifts weather patterns, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.