Multiple Affected as Rough Air Hits Delta Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people sustained injuries after a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services said they assessed a total of five people, and transported a trio to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and migraines. The patients' ages were between their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the newest example of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with researchers saying that global warming is a major factor.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the official added, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders reported they got a call just a mere three minutes before the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is getting more frequent - and often stronger.

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a terrifying brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is fairly routine during flights, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million flights that currently occur around the world.

Severe turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a aircraft experiencing rough air masses apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As global warming shifts weather patterns, specialists caution that flying could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.