There are $2^{2n+1}$ towns with $2n+1$ companies and each two towns are connected with airlines from one of the companies. What’s the greatest number $k$ with the following property:
We can close $k$ of the companies and their airlines in such way that we can still reach each town from any other (connected graph).
1. **Understanding the Problem:**
   We have \(2^{2n+1}\) towns and \(2n+1\) companies. Each pair of towns is connected by an airline operated by one of the companies. We need to find the maximum number \(k\) such that we can close \(k\) companies and still have a connected graph.

2. **Graph Representation:**
   Represent the towns as vertices of a complete graph \(K_{2^{2n+1}}\). Each edge in this graph is colored with one of \(2n+1\) colors, each representing a different company.

3. **Edge Coloring and Connectivity:**
   We need to construct an edge coloring of \(2n+1\) colors on \(K_{2^{2n+1}}\) such that removing any \(n+1\) colors results in a disconnected graph. This means that the graph remains connected if at most \(n\) colors (companies) are removed.

4. **Constructing the Edge Coloring:**
   The construction of such an edge coloring is non-trivial and relies on combinatorial design. One known construction is based on the properties of finite fields and projective planes. Specifically, for a prime power \(q\), the projective plane of order \(q\) has \(q^2 + q + 1\) points and the same number of lines, with each line containing \(q + 1\) points.

5. **Application to the Problem:**
   For \(q = 2^n\), the projective plane of order \(2^n\) has \(2^{2n} + 2^n + 1 = 2^{2n+1}\) points. Each line in this projective plane corresponds to a color (company), and each point corresponds to a town. The properties of the projective plane ensure that any \(n+1\) lines (colors) will cover all points, meaning that removing \(n+1\) lines will leave some points (towns) disconnected.

6. **Conclusion:**
   Therefore, the greatest number \(k\) such that we can close \(k\) companies and still have a connected graph is \(k = n\).

The final answer is \( \boxed{ k = n } \).