Twenty-five passengers have been hospitalised after a Delta flight encountered "significant turbulence".

The aircraft was en route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam but was diverted to Minneapolis.

The plane had been 37,000ft in the air over South Dakota when it was forced to land - just over two hours into its nine-hour expected flight time.

Medical personnel met the flight upon arrival to Minneapolis to evaluate customers and crew.

In a statement, Delta said: "We are grateful for the support of all emergency responders involved.

"Safety is our No. 1 value at Delta, and our Delta Care Team is working directly with customers to support their immediate needs."

Recent studies have discovered that turbulence is increasing.

According to research published by the American Geophysical Union in 2023, the skies are 55 per cent bumpier today than they were 40 years ago.

GETTY | Twenty-five Delta passengers hospitalised after 'significant turbulence' as flight forced into emergency landing

It also predicts that a particularly dnagerous form of turbulence, known as clean-air turbulence, will become more frequent in the future.

A press release from the time said: "The increases in turbulence are consistent with the effects of climate change."

Mark Prosser, a meteorologist at Reading University said: "Airlines will need to start thinking about how they will manage the increased turbulence as it costs the industry $150 to $500million annually in the United States alone."

Last month, nine passengers were injured due to turbulence during a Ryanair flight from Berlin to Milan.

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The extreme turbulence, caused by severe thunderstorms, three passengers against the aircraft ceiling, and left cabin crew members in tears.

One passenger told the German Outlet BILD: "I've never been scared before, but at that moment, I thought the plane was going to break apart or roll over."

Previous to this, at the end of last year 11 people were left injured after a Lufthansa flight hit severe turbulence whilst travelling over the Atlantic Ocean.

In both cases, emergency services met the planes on landing, meaning injured passengers could recieve immediate attention.