Covid: Last flight from India before hotel quarantine arrives in UK

The last scheduled flight from India ahead of new coronavirus restrictions has landed in the UK. Credit: PA

The last scheduled flight from India ahead of new coronavirus restrictions has landed in the UK.

From 4am on Friday, India will be placed on the UK's travel 'red list' - meaning all arrivals will face a mandatory 10-day hotel quarantine.

Only UK and Irish nationals, or those with residency rights arriving in the UK must stay at a government-approved hotel.

At least 10 flights from India arrived from at London's Heathrow on Thursday, with the last of those being the Vistara flight VTI017, which landed at 18:48, according to FlightRadar24.

Arrivals from India into the UK will face mandatory hotel quarantine from 4am on Friday. Credit: PA

Flights from across India, including from Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad, arrived in the UK on Thursday.

India recorded a global record of 314,835 infections on Thursday, while deaths rose by 2,104, bringing its death toll to 184,657, according to the country's Health Ministry.

There has also been a new variant detected in the country, with the hospitals struggling to deal with the increased caseload.

At least 55 cases of the new variant first detected in India have been recorded by Public Health England in the latest week to April 14.

There is a shortage of hospital beds for coronavirus patients across India. Credit: AP

It is unclear if the variant - known as B.1.617 - can be passed on more easily, is more deadly or is resistant to vaccines.

In total, there has been 132 cases of the Indian variant detected in the UK.