No charging with Apple Thunderbolt Display 27 with USB-C adapter

Hi all! Trying to get some juice from my Thunderbolt displays to the Macbook Air, no success so far. Connected the MBA to the display with an Apple original Thunderbolt to USB-C adapter, all controllers work (ctrl+brightness keys for the external display). But there is NO JUICE :((( according to the MBA specs at https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/ both the ports are Thunderbolt ports, but neither of them seems to support charging from the Thunderbolt display. The MBA requires only 30W, so it cant be an issue. The Thunderbolt display used to charge computers up to more than double that. Essentially, i now how to use the only remaining USB-C port for charging, which means though i'm spending on adapters, I have no more ports for peripherals. Is there a solution for charging with the Thunderbolt display? Or is it a Thunderbolt 2/3 issue that will never go away? (I'm aware there is the third party magsafe to USB-C adapters, but that would only free the power adapter for other use, it would still occupy both my USB-C ports)