A Number of Injured as Rough Air Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Several people were hurt when a Delta flight traveling from LA to Sydney was hit by turbulence on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson told. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

Local paramedics reported they treated a total of five people, and transferred a trio to a medical facility with minor injuries that included back pain and head pain. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the newest example of commercial jets being hit by severe turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that climate change is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the representative added, stating that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Paramedics reported they got a call just a mere three minutes before the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

In 2024, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a terrifying short but intense bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are around five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet going through unstable air exert more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are projected to increase the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.