The Eurowings flight EW8855 had been on its way from Lamezia Terme in Italy to Berlin on Monday at the time of the disturbance.
A spokesman for the German budget airline confirmed the incident, which occurred about 20 minutes from Berlin-Tegel Airport in the north of the city.
“At an altitude of about 9000 metres, the captain looked at a closed cloud front and, as a precaution, switched on the seat belt signals,” said the spokesman.
These would normally go on about 10 minutes before landing when the aircraft is at an altitude of 3000 meters. There had also been an announcement by the crew in German and in English, urging passengers to put on their seat belts again.
The plane was able to land safely at the airport around 5pm. Emergency services then arrived at the scene.
Of the eight passengers who suffered injuries, one woman was seriously hurt but her injuries are not deemed life threatening.
Six passengers were taken to hospital for treatment.
Eurowings said three crew members needed medical care. The company said the aircraft will now be inspected thoroughly before being used again in regular flight operations.