A dozen passengers and flight crew members have been treated by paramedics in Sydney after a Hawaiian Airlines flight encountered "unexpected severe turbulence" while flying over the Pacific Ocean.
The HA451 flight from Honolulu to Sydney hit the strong winds about five hours into the flight, with four passengers and three flight attendants initially treated by a doctor onboard and "crew members in consultation with physicians on the ground".
The flight landed safely at Sydney Airport about 7.47pm yesterday, where NSW Ambulance confirmed 12 passengers were assessed by paramedics.
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"Our Airbus A330 aircraft carrying 163 passengers and 12 crewmembers landed without incident at Sydney Airport at 7.47 pm local time Friday," Hawaiian Airlines said in a statement.
The airline confirmed one passenger and three staff were taken to hospital.
"Our immediate priority is to continue to care for our passengers and crew affected by this turbulence event, and we thank Sydney airport first responders for their swift assistance.
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"We conducted a thorough inspection of the aircraft before boarding HA452, which departed Sydney to Honolulu at approximately 10:30 p.m. local time yesterday."
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said paramedics assessed 12 patients at the scene.
"Two have been transported to St George Hospital at Kogarah with minor injuries," the spokesperson said.
"A third patient was assessed with back pain and they have been taken to Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick."
The incident comes as hundreds of flights are being cancelled during a peak school holiday period, due to strong winds in Sydney and operational staffing issues.
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