NTSB Urges Safety Seats for Infants on Airliners : Regulations: Parents at John Wayne Airport generally endorse the recommendation but say it could mean families would fly together less.

The National Transportation Safety Board recommended Tuesday that infants and toddlers be required to sit in safety seats aboard airliners rather than travel for free when carried in their parents’ arms.

The proposal, approved by the safety board, 4-0, would require children less than 40 inches tall or 40 pounds from traveling aboard airplanes without car seats approved for airline use.

At John Wayne Airport, the proposal was generally endorsed by parents as a positive step toward greater safety. Still, parents agreed that the recommendation will hit hardest in the pocketbook and could sharply curtail trips by families with small children.

“I can understand it, but at the same time it’s going to hurt costwise,” said Karen Oi, 35, of Laguna Hills, who was pushing her 16-month-old son, Steven, in a stroller after dropping off relatives at the airport. “But safetywise, I think it’s a good idea.”

The safety board recommendation is meant to deal with children 2 years or younger, but the height-weight requirement could mean older children would also be included.

“All objects must be secured during takeoff and landing,” said the safety board’s chairman, James Kolstad, “including coffeepots and luggage--and yet infants, our precious children, are not. I don’t think the cost of protecting an infant’s life is too much to ask.”

Under the recommendation, parents would be required to buy a ticket for each child to be assured of a seat. Once in force, the requirement could mean that airlines could turn away parents with unticketed children at the gate. Airlines would be expected to continue to allow infants and toddlers to fly for free aboard planes not fully booked.

The recommendation, however, does not address who would be required to provide the safety seats or whether airlines would be asked to absorb their cost.

The recommendation must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA has resisted making safety seats mandatory in the past and has proposed a requirement that airlines allow infant seats aboard if passengers choose to use them.

Most airlines already allow passengers to bring safety seats aboard, and the airline industry as a whole supports mandatory safety seats. The flight attendants’ union, consumer safety groups and some members of Congress have also called for mandatory infant restraints.

The proposal is opposed by some travel agents, who contend that it would increase fares for young families and possibly force them to drive rather than fly on short trips. The agents, citing statistics showing automobile travel is more hazardous per mile than flying, argue that the proposal would effectively increase safety risks for young families.

Charlie Lousignont, 31, of Mission Viejo said his family would be among those that would be doing “a lot more driving” if the safety board’s recommendation is approved.

“With five of us, there’s no way we could travel” by air, said Lousignont, who was at the airport to drop off relatives. He was accompanied by his wife, Kathy, 32, and their children: Tiffany, 5; Chelsea, 20 months, and Colin, 3 months.

“It’s more cost effective to fly the grandparents to us,” he said.

Another traveler, Joe Former, 32, of Huntington Beach, agreed that economic costs would prohibit frequent travel for himself and his family. But Former, who was on his way to visit relatives in Washington with his 20-month-old daughter, Kayla, said he would support the safety board’s proposal only if the airlines provided the safety seats at no cost to passengers.

He added that his daughter would be safe in his arms aboard the cross-country flight. “I’m not going to let her go,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.