She's almost certainly SOL. Too bad they were quite so anal about it.
With international, it really is wise to plan to get to the airport at least 2-1/2 hours before, and plan to have a nice quiet cup of coffee in the lounge.
Seems like a lot of bad circumstances piled up. First, for some reason not checking in online, then something else to get a late start, then the traffic. Does she travel a lot?