Aretha Franklin apparently has a fear of flying. She has promised her fans that she will be returning to the UK as soon as she gets over her phobia.

The internationally famous 72-year-old soul singer admitted that she has been suffering from aviophobia for 30 years now. She might have been having this particular fear for three decades now, but Franklin has been trying very hard to finally get to conquer her fears.

Franklin said, "I want to come to London. I'll be there when I can get over this flying thing."

"I've had a fear of flying since 1984. It just came on overnight," said Franklin. "I did take a class, Fearless Flyers, but I missed two weeks of it and my fellow students went on to Indiana and passed. And I didn't. So, I need to make those two classes and then hopefully I'll pass and I'll be able to fly again."

Aretha Franklin's new album, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, shows the famous singer covering songs by other female musicians, such as Alicia Keys, Etta James, Gloria Gaynor, and Adele.

"I wish some of those songs were mine," she revealed. "I had a wonderful time recording this. Music is transporting and can take you to a certain time in your life. There are many wonderful memories around these songs."

In fact, she admits that she would like to be part of a duet with any of the songstresses whose songs she featured on her latest album. She admitted, "I think Alicia and I, and Adele and I, and maybe Gladys Knight could do something amazing. Any of them, really."

She has been singing since she was only a child and she has recently admitted that she will never stop singing, even if she decides to retire from the spotlight. "No, never. I'll never retire. I'll always be singing," Aretha Franklin said. "If I retire from the business, I'll be singing at ladies' tea mornings or at church or at fairs, somewhere. I'll always be singing."