Multiple Affected as Rough Air Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people have been injured when a Delta jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced rough air this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson stated. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Local paramedics reported they evaluated five individuals, and transported a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the most recent case of commercial jets experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists saying that global warming is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, clarifying that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.

Paramedics indicated they were alerted just a mere three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more frequent - and more severe.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "considerable" turbulence just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a certain international flight went through a frightening short but intense bout of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while instances of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane going through unstable air generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate alters the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.