Thomas Cook, one of the world's oldest travel agencies, is fighting to avoid bankruptcy

Thomas Cook, a British travel agency established more than 100 years ago, met with shareholders Sunday to avoid bankruptcy.

Thomas Cook confirmed Friday that he was looking for 200 million pounds in new capital. The main shareholder of the company is the Chinese investment company Fosun.

The money needed would be a "seasonal reserve facility" and would add to the 900 million pounds of new capital already raised, the company said.

Any inability to raise the required capital would raise questions about the jobs of Thomas Cook's 22,000 employees around the world, including 9,000 in Britain.

A collapse could leave about 150,000 stranded British travelers, as well as tens of thousands of travelers from other countries. The British government may have to rent planes to allow its citizens to return home.

DOSSIER – In this archive photo from 19 May 2016, a Thomas Cook plane takes off in England. Thomas Cook, one of the oldest and largest travel agencies in the world, faces a race against the clock announced Friday, September 20, 2019. (Tim Goode / PA

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab acted as if a government bailout of the travel company was unlikely, the Guardian reported.

Thomas Cook's situation comes about six months after the low-budget Icelandic airline Wow Air said in a statement that it had ceased operations and blocked passengers.

Associated Press contributed to this report.