Several Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney experienced rough air Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a company official informed. A number of the onboard staff required medical attention.

Emergency medical services said they assessed five patients, and transported a trio to a medical facility with minor injuries that comprised back pain and migraines. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the newest example of commercial jets experiencing turbulence, with experts indicating that climate change is a major factor.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official added, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Paramedics reported they received a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane landed, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

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

Last year, 25 people were hurt when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" turbulence just two hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a terrifying short but intense bout of severe turbulence. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a sum of more than 35 million flights that now take off around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane passing through rough air masses apply greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As climate change modifies weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are expected to heighten the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.