Lithium in pax holds.
To my knowledge the data produced so far makes it clear that HALON is ineffective in suppressing lithium type hold fires.
The MEL for my pax aircraft states that the hold must be EMPTY if the extinguishing system is inoperative.
My conclusion then is that ineffective and inoperative amount to the same thing as far as the end result (a fire successfully suppressed) is concerned so carriage of this stuff, should be carefully considered by the flight crew.
Thats my view, and I agree that commercial versus safety risk decisions by the panel above are not being made robustly. Shame.
Does this panel have an accountable manager?