US flight to Amsterdam suffers severe turbulence, 25 hospitalised; 288 people were on board

A Delta Airlines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam suffered severe turbulence on Wednesday, leading to the hospitalisation of 25 persons on board.

Owing the turbulence and injuries, the Delta flight was diverted to Minneapolis–Saint Paul in Minnesota.

There were 275 passengers and 13 crew members in the flight. The airlines identified as the flight as Delta flight DL56 in a press release.

“The aircraft, an Airbus A330-900, landed safely at MSP [Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport], and medical personnel met the flight upon arrival to evaluate customers and crew. Twenty-five of those on board were transported to local hospitals for evaluation and care. We are grateful for the support of all emergency responders involved,” the release said.

The aeroplane landed around 7:25 pm local time, an airport spokesperson told CNN.

The spokesperson said that the Delta flight was diverted “due to reported in-flight turbulence that caused injuries on board”.

The Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport Fire Department and paramedics met the plane at the gate and provided “initial medical attention to passengers in need” before some were taken to hospitals, according to the spokesperson.

In recent years, cases of turbulence have been reported increasingly, with some linking it to climate change.

In the United States, there have been 207 cases of severe injuries from turbulence since 2009, according to official data carried by BBC News.

The report further said that there are around 5,000 cases of severe or greater turbulence every year.

Severe turbulence is defined as the situation when turbulence-induced up and down movements of the aeroplane exerts more than 1.5g-force on your body, which is enough to lift you out of your seat if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt, according to the report.

Last year, a passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight died from injuries sustained during turbulence.