A new report has recommended that the Galway Airport site should be redeveloped as a creative campus for the film sector.
It also says there is scope to create a mixed-use business park on the 114-acre site.
The recommendations are contained in a feasibility study, carried out for Galway City and County Councils.
The local authorities bought the site in Carnmore in 2013.
The report concludes the facility is not a commercially viable location for the operation of scheduled air passenger services.
Last month it emerged that the Department of the Gaeltacht intended to agree a Public Service Obligation contract for flights to the Aran Islands with a helicopter company that would base its operations from Galway Airport.
Some residents on the three islands are angry that the service would operate from there, as they say the existing fixed wing service from Connemara is much more suited to their requirements.
The contract process was delayed after the department was made aware that there was no certainty about the availability of the airport for aviation after mid-December.
The report says there are a number of potential uses but that advances in the road infrastructure and limited State supports mean air traffic on a commercial basis is not the preferable option.
Report recommends Galway Airport could be a creative campus with emphasis on film - Hollymore perhaps? pic.twitter.com/tEotEJ6c7u
— Pat McGrath (@patmcgrath) September 22, 2015
The study was carried out by Future Analytics and assesses a range of potential uses and rates them accordingly.
The report's authors say that because of the scale of the property, a number of activities could take place there.
They say a creative hub would enhance Galway's status as a UNESCO City of Film and would augment the number of audio visual production companies in the area.
The addition of a mixed-use business park would boost inward investment and attract a range of companies to the west.
The study concludes these uses are best suited to the needs of the strategic, economic, social and environmental needs of the Galway area.
