A Number of Hurt as Rough Air Impacts A Delta Airlines Flight into Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals have been injured following a Delta flight from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a company official told. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

Local paramedics said they assessed a total of five people, and transported three to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. Those affected were between their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the latest incident of planes being hit by severe turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that global warming is a key driver.

On board were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, adding that the plane arrived "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.

Paramedics reported they were alerted just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.

During the past year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a terrifying short but intense of severe turbulence. A traveler died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through unstable air exert more than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that air travel could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the jet stream level are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.